Camden

Camden Council has committed to increased council and living rent home building on under-utilised council land in the borough. The authority has identified the potential for the delivery of up to 73 council and social rent homes on 5 sites in Camden Town, Kentish Town and Highgate. Under the proposals, it would retain ownership of all the homes and deliver further improvements to the existing estates identified for development. The homes will be the latest expansion of the borough’s Community Investment Programme, which has already built more than 1,250 new homes.

City of London 

Property Week reports that commercial property investment in the City of London increased 55% from the final quarter of 2022 to £572.2 million in January 2023 – the best January turnover in 7 years, according to Savills. The figure is 13% above the 10-year January average, and 80% up on January 2022. Savills reported that 8 deals were transacted during the month, and is currently tracking a further 16 assets under offer worth a combined £1.67 billion. Director Felix Rabeneck said the deals demonstrated  international investor confidence in London and provided  needed clarity as to where prime pricing may land, but added that there is still much for investors to remain cautious about as Q4 2022 valuations start to come through.

The City of London Corporation has formally appointed global consultancy and construction company Mace to deliver the Salisbury Square Development, a new civic hub in the Square Mile. The scheme designed by Eric Parry Architects will house a flagship legal facility for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and a state-of-the-art headquarters for the City of London Police. It will also deliver a new grade A commercial building and increased public realm and will have strong sustainability credentials. Once operational, the scheme is expected to generate Gross Value Added profits of £51 million per year. Completion is set for 2026.

EG reports that Dominvs Group has received planning consent for its plans to build a 780-bed student housing development in the City of London. The developer plans to demolish the 5-storey Friary Court office block at 65 Crutched Friars to provide a 21-storey student housing tower. The group also recently submitted plans to provide a permanent home for the Migration Museum on the first three floors of the PBSA scheme at an estimated cost of £15 million. The scheme designed by 3XN Architects will also include a public courtyard and potential pocket park along Rangoon Street,

City of Westminster

Property Week reports that the Competition and Markets authority (CMA) has “unconditionally cleared” the proposed merger between Capco and Shaftesbury following the phase one review of the deal. As a result, the merger will now be completed on 6 Marcg subject to a court hearing expected on the 2^nd. The £3.5 billion deal was first agreed between the two companies in June 2022.

Property Week reports that British Land has signed an agreement with Virgin Media O2 to lease 83,000 sq ft of space over 10 years for the telecom giant’s new headquarters at its Paddington Central campus, next to Paddington Station in central London. Virgin Media O2 will consolidate office space when it takes seven floors at the refurbished 3 Sheldon Square on a 10 year lease, taking the building to 60% let, ahead of its opening in February 2024.

Property Week reports that Canvas Offices has unveiled plans to create a new five-storey flexible office space on Oxford Street after signing. A 25-year lease for 321 Oxford Street. The building is currently used for retail and storage, but Canvas’s proposals would see it converted into modern, flexible workspace which will “blur the lines between work and home.” The building marks Canvas’s 13^th location, with the company forecast to open 10 additional buildings including 321 Oxford Street in the next 18 months. The plans follow a report from Savills which revealed almost 1 million sqft of retail spave on Oxford Street would be converted into offices in the next 5 years.

Building Magazine reports that Sadiq Khan is set to rule on Berkeley’s plans for the 556-home residential redevelopment of Paddington Green police station. The Squire & Partners-designed scheme was initially refused by Westminster City Council for being too tall, but the firm has now increased the height of the three tower scheme, which now reaches up to 29 storeys.

Hammersmith & Fulham

The BBC reports that Labour-led Hammersmith and Fulham council has criticised the Earls Court Development Company’s proposed Earl’s Court regeneration plans over insufficient affordable housing. ECDC are proposing a 35% affordability figure for the 4,500 new homes, but Hammersmith and Fulham are calling for this proportion to be increased to 50% to align with the borough’s targets. The site identified in ECDC’s proposals spans between Earl’s Court, West Kensington and West Brompton Tube stations.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea

Property Week reports that the Earls Court Development Company (ECDC) has revelaed its revamped masterplan for the Earls Court regeneration scheme. The new proposals for the 40-acre site include the creation of 4,500 new homes and a city park as part of a 7.35 million sqft mixed-use scheme. The proposed development would be 60% residential and 40% commercial and retail with culture and community spaces. ECDC has also set a 35% affordable housing target for the scheme.

Southwark

Property Week reports that flexible office provider Fora is to launch a 43,400 sqft workspace at London’s Bankside after entering into a management agreement with Oxford Properties. The subsidiary of The Office Group has partnered with the landlord of the Blue Fin Building to provide flexible workspace, conference space and event facilities for the building’s occupiers. The new location will be Fors’s 19^th site in the UK and is set to open this autumn.

Property Week reports that Art-Invest Real Estate and London Sport have announced a partnership that will see the sports charity deliver a sports provision at Canada Water Dockside, Art-Invest’s 4.5-acre office-led scheme. The scheme will comprise three new headquarter buildings, providing 1.5m sq ft of grade-A workspace for 10,000 people. It will also include community spaces and hospitality locations across the ground floor. The location is set to become the new commercial quarter at the heart of the area’s regeneration, located by the tube station, the Dock’s waterfront and British Land’s ongoing 53-acre scheme.

Tower Hamlets

Property Week reports that SAV Group has sold the 79,302 sqft Northern & Shell Tower in Canary Wharf to developer Selsdon Way Development for conversion into an £85 million build-to-rent scheme. The vacant property, which was formerly a headquarters for Express owners Northern & Shell, was sold after SAV gained planning permission for a change of use to provide 209 BTR flats. The proposals will see an additional storey added alongside 3,000 sqft of communal terrace space across three levels.

Media giant Time Out has withdrawn its plans to provide a 20,000 sqft plus food market in Spitalfields, citing the drawn-out planning approval process. The company’s proposals for 106 Commercial Road, E1, had included 12 fine dining standard kitchens in a Grade II listed disused office block. Tower Hamlets’ development committee recommended the plans for approval last July, but a decision was deferred ahead of another site visit and the scheme has not come before planners since. A spokesperson for Time Out Group said “It is regrettable that, although recommended for approval by planning officers, the Tower Hamlets planning committee chose to defer its decision on our application in 2022 which had already taken several years and during which we addressed all planning concerns”.